Charmed, I'm Sure

Gr 4–6—When your parents are Snow White and Prince Charming, stars of one of the most romantic tales of all time, the pressure to find a date to the Fall Festive dance can be pretty intense. So Rosie decides to ask her mom, who has parlayed the tale of how she and her prince met into CharmingIndustries.com, for help. Her mother writes articles like "You Too Can Meet Your Prince Charming: 12 Easy Steps To Make It Happen" and tries to solve Rosie's problem through a makeover and the gift of a magic mirror compact. At first, Rosie's unsure that she needs a makeover at all—she's a self-assured and confident seventh grader who doesn't buy into the idea that she needs to change to make a boy like her. But the magic mirror begins to convince her that becoming the "fairest of them all" is the only way to get a date to the dance. Will Rosie follow the mirror's advice, get the date, and live happily ever after? And will she still feel good about herself if that happens? Littman has crafted a fun, if somewhat predictable, twist on the standard middle-schooler-needs-a-date story by adding fairy-tale references, including the seven dwarfs acting as Rosie's "uncles" (and providing terrible advice). She also mixes in pop culture references and current slang ("rando," "amirite"). However, these additions may be at the expense of secondary characters like Rosie's friends, who don't feel fully realized.